Analyzing the landscape of “clean” products for textured hair at a Los Angeles Target

Abstract Background Chemicals in haircare products have been linked with endocrine disruption, reproductive health harm, and carcinogenicity. As consumers transition to less chemically intensive hairstyles, they may seek out the “clean” hair product landscape. While large retailers such as Target have created “clean” branded sections to potentially improve transparency for consumers in a complex marketplace, there are no regulatory guidelines defining “clean” and the “clean” haircare market has not been systematically assessed for potential health and safety concerns. Objective To assess ingredient hazards within the “clean” textured (curly, wavy, coily) haircare product landscape. Methods We web-scraped ingredient lists and other associated information for 150 products for textured hair from the “clean” category on the website for a specific Target store in South Los Angeles. We screened the ingredients for 18 chemicals of health concern (e.g., fragrance, phthalates) and linked the products to the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Skin Deep® database to determine a product hazard score (1=least hazardous, 10=most hazardous). Results Seventy percent of products listed fragrance, an ingredient category of concern given limited ingredient transparency. Only 62 (41%) of products were listed in the EWG’s Skin Deep® beauty product catalog and over 90% of listed products were classified by EWG as a ‘moderate’ risk to human health (product hazard scores between 3 and 6). Significance These findings suggest that people who seek to manage natural hairstyles while avoiding exposure to harmful chemicals, navigate a confusing and unregulated marketplace. Inadequate federal regulation ensuring safety of personal care products does not ensure the safety of products in newer markets of “clean” branded products. Our findings suggest that harmonization of a definition of “clean” should be integrated across industry, from manufacturing to retail given existing inconsistencies that can create challenges for consumers who try to avoid harmful ingredients. Impact There is a growing market of “clean” branded beauty products such as Target’s “clean” beauty lines, which market products that exclude ingredients of concern, and thus potentially increase transparency for consumers. By analyzing 150 products for textured haircare found online at a Target store in Los Angeles and by linking products to EWG’s Skin Deep® database hazard scores, we find limitations of such labeling schemes, including the continued existence of hazardous chemicals, potentially misleading marketing language, some inconsistent labeling, and potential negative impacts linked to racial and ethnic identities. Our findings underscore the need for consistency and transparency in labeling products as “clean” to reduce consumer uncertainty and improve product safety.